Overhead door



Nv'.' 1s, 1941.

w. ,'r. FAUX OVERHEAD D603 Filed June 19.- 19379 Patented Nov. 18, 1941 i UNITED Y STATES PATENT OFFICE i i r 2,263,077 I OVERHEAD Doon William T. Faux, Santa Barbara, Calif. Application .lune 19, 1939, Serial No. 279,921

3 Claims. "(01. 2020) 'I'his invention relates to overhead doors, and, more particularly, to the type of door commonly employed in garages, and like structures.

In overhead doors heretofore in use, it has been necessary to provide a comparatively large free space above the door, into which the door may extend during the operation of opening or closing the door. From this fact it has resulted that overhead ldoors have been unavailable in structures not provided with a ceiling suiiiciently high to aiord such a free space over the door.

Again it is common in overhead doors for a portion of the door to assume a position during opening and closing wherein the door lies disposed at an angle of about 45 to the ceiling, andv wherein this portion ofthe door occupies a large part of the overhead storage space within the garage. This fact has limited the use of overhead doors for garages large enough to afford suflicient free space to accommodate the swing of the door in addition to the necessary storage space for automobiles, and the like.

Likewise it has beendiilicult with the doors of the present structure to achieve a balance between the forces balancing the Weight of the door and the door `so that a jarring action on opening and closing may be prevented.

It is one of the objects of this invention to provide an overhead door in which provision is made for the opening and closing of the door Without the necessity of providing a large free overhead space into which the door may extend.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an overhead door in which the space `re quired to be left free during the opening and closing of the door to accommodate the door when disposed at an angle to the ceiling is reduced to an extent sufficient to eliminate any interference with the storing of automobiles, and the like.

- It is a further object of this invention to provide van overhead door in which means are provided to check the force tending to close the door as it approaches closed position, thus preventing slamming and jarring,

`It is a further object ofthis invention to provide an overhead door in which the force tending to open the door is decreased as the door approaches` full open position, thus preventing slamming or jarring.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an overhead,A door of the class described, which is simple and economical of construction and presents a minimum of parts subject to Wear or periodic replacement.

`32 of the rail 21.

Further objects and advantages will appear hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a front view of a device embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. l

Fig. 3 is a section taken on theA line 3 3 oi Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation, partly in sectiony of` a portion of the device, showing the door in partially closed position.

Fig.`5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, showing the door in open position.

Fig. 6 is a perspective View, showing a roller in detail. p n I p Fig. 7 is a perspective, showing a portion of the rail construction in detail.

vReferring more particularly to the drawings, I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, in which there is provided a door I0 divided into two sections II and I2. The sections II and I2 are secured together by a plurality of` hinges I3. Suitable handles I4 may be provided upon the door. Upon the back of the door, at the top thereof in bearings I5, is journaled a shaft I6 which may be broken in they middle to provide for a turnbuckle I1, in the well-known manner. A similar shaft I8 is provided at the bottom of the door, journaled in bearings I9 and having a turnbuckle 20. A similarb'ut shorter shaft `2| is journaled in bearings 22 at the top of the lower section I2 and may likewise carry a similar turnbuckle 23.

To facilitate the closing of the door, a pair of handles 24 may be hung on chains 25 from the bottom of section I2 so as to be within reach when the door I0 is open, as shown in Fig. 5.

Disposed at each side of the door I0 and formed to run thev full length of said door I0 both above and behind said door and also vertically alongside of the door, are two pairs of rails 26 and 21.

The outer rails 21 are spaced to engage upper rollers 28 which are mounted on shaft I6. Outer rails 21 similarly engage lower rollers 29 which are mounted on shaft I8. The inner rails 26 are spaced to engage center rollers 30 which are mounted on the shaft 2 I As more clearly shown in Fig. 7, the inner rail 26 has a curved portion 3| which lies generally below and inside of the curved portion The curvature of portion 3l is drawn from a relatively longer radiusv than that of portion 32.

The rollers 28, 29 and 30 are shown here diagrammatically and it will be understood that in practice the rails 26 and 21 may be spaced apart and flanged rollers employed, or alternatively a channel may be formed in the rails to guide plain rollers. Again the necessary guiding function may be performed by suitable guide plates afxed to the side of the doors.

In practice, I prefer to form the rails 26 and 21 of maple or other hard wood and the rails may, of course, be formed of one piece, if desired.

To improve the appearance of the door and to house the rollers, a board 33 is attached to the garage frame 34 and extends toward the door I0, thus forming a pocket or channel 35 to accommodate and enclose the rollers when the door is closed.

The rails 26 and 21 are preferably built upon a slight incline, rising so that the rear of the rails is higher than the front. In practice, I have found an inclination of from two to three inches in seven feet, to be desirable.

A pulley 36 is secured to the garage Wall, preferably at the rear of the garage, and a cable 31 supporting a counterweight 38 runs thereon.

The other end of the cable 31 is attached to the door I at a point 39 near the top of section il of door I0.

Disposed in the path of the rollers 28 as the door I 0 approaches the full open position, at each side of said door I have provided a block 40 supporting a spring bumper 4I to take up any possible shock or jar.

Guide rods 42 are provided, supported from blocks 43 and having one end bent at 44 and connected to the rails 26. Rings 45 are provided, adapted to ride upon guide rods 42. A coil spring 46 is attached to each ring 45 at one end and the other end thereof is attached to the section Il of the door I6 at one side and slightly below the center of section Il.

A pair of coil springs 41 may be provided in the floor of the garage, disposed to act as shock absorbers or bumpers when the door is closed.

Where it is desirable to provide a double door, one pair of rails 26 and 21, for example the lefthand pair in Fig, 1, may be hung from joists intermediate the sides of the garage. This construction also permits the provision of a small entrance door 48, shown in fragment, hung from hinges 49 in Fig. 1.

The operation of the device is as follows:

Assuming the door to be in closed position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the springs 46 will be extended and tending to lift the door to open position. The counterbalance weights 38 also tend to open the door. These forces are nicely balanced by the weight ofthe door itself so that a slight upward pull upon the door, as on handles i4, will start the door opening.

As the door moves toward open position the rollers 28 traveling on rails 21 pass over the curved portion 32 of said rails 21 until they assume the position shown in Fig. 4. `It will be appreciated that as the door moves toward open position the force tending to hold the door closed is progressively lessened so that when the door reaches the position shown in Fig. 4, no further assistance from the spring 46 is required to finish opening the door.

Meanwhile the rollers 30 travel upon rails 26 and over the curved portions 3|. As seen in Fig. 4, when the rollers 30 pass over the curved portion 3| no portion of the door is allowed to extend appreciably into the space above the rails 26 and 21, thus avoiding the necessity of providing a large free space above the door. Still the fact that rollers 28 have taken the more abrupt course over the curved portion 32 has prevented the section Il of door I0 from occupying any appreciable amount of space within the garage storage space proper as it approaches the position shown in Fig. 4.

As the door continues from the position shown in Fig. 4 towards the position shown in Fig. 5, under the force of counterweight 38, rings 45 and springs 46 travel along guide rails 42. To prevent jarring or slamming as the door moves open under the force of said counterweight 38, the incline of rails 26 and 21 exerts a braking action.

In closing the door, the handles 24 may be given a slight pull, and as the door moves further towards its closed position, spring 46 becomes extended, thus braking the fall and preventing slamming or jarring on closing. In any event, the bumper springs 4I and 41 prevent damage to the door from jarring either upon opening or closing.

It will thus be seen that I have provided an overhead door which is simple and economical of construction, and which does not require excessive free space either within the garage or over the door, yet which easily opens and closes without slam or jar.

While the particular forms of the invention herein described are well adapted to carry out the objects of the invention, it is to be understood that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the principles of the invention, and the invention includes all such modications and changes as come within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an overhead door, the combination of a door divided into sections, rollers carried by said sections, rails adapted to engage said rollers, means including a counterweight and a spring normally tending to open said door, said spring being operable during a part of the opening operation only, a guide rod for said spring, said spring traveling along said guide rod when said spring is contracted.

2. In an overhead door, the combination of a door divided into sections, rollers carried by said sections, rails adapted to engage said rollers, means including a spring normally tending to open said door, said spring being operable during a part of the opening operation only, a guide rod for said spring, said spring traveling along said guide rod when said spring is contracted.

3. In an overhead door, the combination of a door divided into sections, rollers carried by said sections, rails adapted to engage said rollers, means including a counterweight and `a spring normally tending to open said door, said spring being operable during a part of the opening operation only, a guide rod for said spring, said spring traveling along said guide rod when said spring is contracted, said spring being adapted to exert a braking force upon said door as said door approaches closed position.

. WILLIAM T. FAUX. 

